Fallback?
by Nix1978
Summary: Emily shows up at Derek's place and what happens reveals just what their relationship has been for the past six years.
1. Chapter 1

**So this is a little different, but I hope you enjoy. It may seem a little rushed but please read the AN at the end to explain…. Thanks :D**

Morgan cracked open a bottle of beer as he sank into his black leather couch. He flicked through the channels on his wide screen TV until he got to the NFL Network. He took a sip and smiled to himself as he relaxed, feeling the cold liquid trickle down through his body. This was the first time they'd had more than two days off in a row for months and they had made it to their third day of no cases. He'd spent the first two doing up a house he'd bought the summer before which had been somewhat neglected and today was his day for rest. He threw some roasted nuts into his mouth and chewed with satisfaction as the game began.

Just a few minutes later, he closed his eyes with annoyance and released a belaboured breath as his cell rang out. He contemplated not answering, but of course he had contemplated doing that many many times…. but always did.

Reaching forward, he picked his cell up off the coffee table and on his screen was a picture of Emily Prentiss's excitable smiling face. He'd taken that photo on a rather drunken team night out and since then she regularly ordered him to remove it and replace it with a more 'sober' picture….. A request he ignored with amusement.

"Prentiss, this better not be a case, the Bears Saints game is just about to start."

"_That's football right?" _She asked.

He smiled, "Yeah, you're learning."

"_Well that's as far as my football knowledge goes I'm afraid, and even then I've never heard of the Saints_."

Morgan rolled his eyes, "I guess you're a lost cause then."

"_Thanks Morgan."_ She said sarcastically.

"You know I don't mean it princess. We'll make a football fan out of you yet…. Anyway, what's up?"

"_You busy tonight?"_

There was a moments silence as Morgan pondered.

"What's happened?" He sighed.

"_Why has something had to have happened for me to want to hang out with you?_" She said sheepishly.

"OK Emily. Out with it. You said you said you were going out with Anthony tonight."

"_Well there was a change of plan."_

"What happened?"

After a long pause, he chuckled, "Emily?"

"_Ok ok, we split up. Happy?"_ She snapped.

"Of course I'm not happy…. Although I did think he was a smarmy ass, but if it's made you sad, then I'm not happy."

"_I'm not sad_." She defended.

"Ok if you say so…. And yes, I'm free. Of course you can come round."

"_Thanks. I'll see you in an hour or so_."

~~CM~~

As soon as he heard the door knock, Morgan jumped up and took hold of the large glass off the coffee table he had left there waiting for her arrival. He opened the door to be greeted by Emily holding up a brown bag.

"What's that?" He asked with an inquisitive frown.

"Supplies…." She offered.

He smiled, "Ok, I'll swap you." He said taking the bag off her and giving her the goblet of red wine.

"That's a good swap….." Emily laughed, slipping past him. "…Did I leave it long enough for the game to be finished?" She queried hopefully as she made her way through to the lounge, followed by Morgan.

"No. Afraid not. There's just fifteen minutes left. You don't mind if we watch it do you?" He asked as he sat on the couch, leaning forward, eyes glued to the screen.

"It's your place. You do what you want." She shrugged.

She naturally positioned herself at the other end of the two seater couch to him and collapsed back into the soft leather, taking a sip of the red liquid. She closed her eyes momentarily and let her head fall back as she relaxed.

"So what's the score?" She said half heartedly a minute or so later, looking around the room at anything but the television screen.

"Twenty two to twenty five…." He answered, turning to glance at her, "….You don't have to pretend to be interested you know." He chuckled, seeing that familiar unimpressed expression on her face.

She looked back at him with half a smile, "Good. Because I'm not."

"It's nearly done." He assured, in his deep, calming tone, turning back to the game.

Curiosity got the better of him however and he couldn't help but look back to Emily, who was curled up, looking lost in her own little world, peaceful and content. He caught her sink the last drop of wine and raised an eyebrow at her until she noticed his stare.

"You're supposed to be watching the game." She said dryly.

"I'm enjoying watching you more." He winked at her.

She rolled her eyes, then looked downward trying to hide her shy smile. As much as she tried to fend off the Derek Morgan charm, he always did this….. Turned her into a fourteen year old girl, giggling inside when a boy she likes pays her a compliment.

"You want another one of them?" He asked, pointing to her now empty glass.

She nodded, handing it over, "You gonna join me now?"

"What do you think?"

He jumped up, jogging into the kitchen and grabbing hold of the open wine bottle on the counter and a fresh glass.

"Here you go…." He said, pouring Emily another full glass, and then one for himself.

He sat down, this time leaving barely room to slide a ten cents piece between them, elbows touching. She watched him take a mouthful and giggled,

"My. That was a manly gulp." She mocked.

"Well I've got some catching up to do, haven't I missy?" He said, playfully nudging her.

Her eyes widened as he managed to finish the entire glass in two more mouthfuls. They remained in silence as he placed his glass down and reached over, removing hers from her hand and putting it on the coffee table in front of them.

Shifting his body round a little, he stared into her dark, slightly sad eyes and uttered, "So, do you wanna talk about it?"

"What?" She replied softly, averting her gaze from his awkwardly.

"Anthony….." He said, tenderly placing one finger on her jaw line, encouraging her to look at him once gain, "…..What do you think?"

His voice was soothing and quiet, full of concern and he watched her eyes intently, just waiting from them to betray her words.

She shook her head, biting her bottom lip.

"What can I do then?" He muttered.

"You know….." She replied, swallowing in anticipation.

He smiled warmly and held out one hand to her, "Come here then." He whispered, as she placed her hand in his and closed the small gap between them. He slowly leaned in and gently stroked the one side of her face allowing his fingers to intertwine with her hair as he did, "You ok?" He breathed.

She nodded and then did what she had gone there for in the first place… what they both knew she had gone there for.

Kissing him deeply, she shifted her body slightly, and on cue, Morgan hooked one arm under her thigh, aiding her in straddling his hips. She broke the kiss as his hands slipped under her shirt, fingertips gently roaming up and down her smooth back, and smiled into his dark eyes.

"God I missed you." He whispered, closing the gap once again, crashing his lips into hers, desperately exploring her body with his hands.

He closed his eyes taking in every sensation of her fingers lightly brushing his arms and savoured in the feel of her soft, supple skin…. It had been too long since he last felt her like this…..

_Six years ago was the first time. Just a few months after Emily joined the BAU. They barely knew each other back then compared to now, but even in those short few months, the things they saw and dealt with together had created a bond, a closeness, and understanding of what they both were about. Geeking out together over Kurt Vonnegut helped too….. He responded to her inner nerd just the way she wanted a guy to. _

_It was a team night out…. There'd been dancing. There'd been flirting, and at the end of the night Morgan had offered to share a cab back with her to make sure she got home ok. She accepted. When they got to her place, she offered him coffee. He accepted. Their first night together and they didn't even make it up the stairs….. Frantic, yet attentive drunken sex starting in her kitchen ending on her couch, the coffee cups with a spoonful of granules in each, still sitting on the counter._

_The next morning with sore heads and delicate stomachs they had 'the conversation' over a very strong cup of coffee. The one where they agreed that sleeping together was a great and enjoyable mistake… but definitely a mistake. Their jobs were at stake, so from now on it was just friends. No more…_

_That agreement lasted just a few weeks…_

He opened his eyes and stared up at her smiling gaze, grinning before gently lifting her shirt over her head and letting it fall to the ground behind her. He looked down and inhaled deeply, almost trying to breathe in her beauty. But she cupped his face in her hands turning his eyes back to hers and lowered her lips to meet his once again, kissing him deeply and slowly as his strong arm around her waist pulled her in closer to his chest.

"I missed you too." She breathed into him, not letting their lips part as she did.

He then felt that familiar little childlike tug at the base of his T-shirt that always made him smile expectantly. It was the subtlety and most of all the anticipation of what was to come he loved, even if for just a few seconds. He lifted his arms in compliance and she pulled the fabric up and over his body revealing his strong, dark, taut flesh.

With their lips pressed together again, her nails dug into his naked back and his wanton hands reached around her small frame unclipping the red lace bra she had worn for him… He knew it was for him…..

_He chose it the night he went to pick her up from her apartment before meeting the rest of the team at Garcia's for JJ's birthday party. Emily walked out of the shower and into her bedroom, as he was sat on her bed complaining about the pile of paperwork Hotch had left for him. He quickly halted mid sentence with a choke as she dropped the towel and his mouth fell open at the sight in front of him…. So brazen. So beautiful….._

"_Ok, so now I got your attention, which one?" She asked, holding out one red and one black bra and panties set._

"_The red." He mumbled, nodding toward the lacy fabric._

"_Ok." She laughed with a slightly wicked smile, turning to place the rejected lingerie back into the chest of the drawers behind her._

_Her smile widened as she felt him snake his arms around her slim, naked waist and push her up against the wooden furniture, his weight fully on her… That night they were nearly two hours late for the party… Their friends not impressed._

She wrapped her arms around his neck and held on to him, trying to pull him in closer, the feel of his bare flesh on hers sending shockwaves all over her skin. As his tongue explored her mouth desperately and his hips ground into hers, she broke the kiss breathlessly and closed her eyes tight. She let her head fall back upon feeling his rough fingertips trace her flesh down her sides, lingering upon her waist where he stroked tenderly….. It was one of her most sensitive spots and he knew them all… He knew every inch of her and how to touch her to bring her to the brink…..

_She had longed for his touch for weeks. The anticipation building and building from seeing him every day at work. Knowing that he wanted her too and not being able to give in to their yearning. They had only faltered once since she had been dating Anthony… After a late night arrest and take down training session, their sweaty, charged bodies, crashing against the lockers in the deserted changing room. His hands that had been so strong and aggressive just a few minutes before, then softly brushing upon her reddened, tender skin. They made quick, yet explosive work of releasing their tensions that evening, denting a locker in the process…. But afterwards, as they walked to the car lot, they agreed that they really should stick to their rule of no 'hook ups' at the workplace or whilst either of them dated anyone else. Well strictly speaking, that wasn't the rule anymore. It was the original rule they made when Morgan was dating Lucy, a petite blond nurse he had met when Reid was being treated at hospital for a bump on the head. Lucy was pretty, sweet, kind, attentive…. but eventually pissed… pissed when she spied Emily making a drink in nothing but Morgan's football shirt through his kitchen window when she was on her way to surprise him. After that showdown they decided they really shouldn't involve anyone in their arrangement, so from then on it should only happen when they were both single….. That rule was soon to be tweaked._

He hooked his arms under hers, resting his palms on her shoulder blades. She leant her body weight on his forearms, arching her back, her eyes still closed and her face smiling as he ran his kisses down her neck and onto her chest. He traced the tip of his tongue over one nipple before taking it whole in his mouth, nipping and sucking gently. He could feel her chest heaving against him as he did so, only encouraging him to lavish more attention. He removed one hand from her back, his remaining arm easily still holding her body weight. As he switched sides with his mouth, he let his now free hand rest upon her other breast, massaging gently. She opened her eyes and looked down at him, watching, as she caressed the back of his smooth head. He was so consumed in her, desperately tasting every piece of flesh he could, getting harder and stronger in his touch as his desire took over. She revelled in this…. Knowing that only thing in the universe that mattered to him right now was her. Truth was, she always wanted him to feel that way, but it didn't always work out…. For either of them….

_You see after Lucy, there came Gregory. Gregory was an Agent from the Counter Terrorism's hostage rescue team. Just the kind of guy that Morgan hated…. Well not really hated, but just the type of guy he definitely didn't want Emily dating. Morgan had a rule of not dating girls with guns… they generally turned out to be girls who were a complete contrast to Emily…. Emily on the other hand had no such rule, and seemed to be attracted to bad boys that just loved running around with a gun. _

_The day they broke their latest rule, Morgan sat at his desk, his foot tapping at the floor frantically as he listened to Gregory flirting and giggling with Emily who was sat at the desk across from him. He felt a huge wave of relief flow through him as Gregory told her he couldn't make their date that night as he had to work and even bigger relief when she mentioned her hot tub to him for the fact Gregory wouldn't be in it tonight. _

_When Morgan turned up on her doorstep that night though, he had every intention of just talking to her… Talking about what, he wasn't sure, but as they lay naked in the hot tub, the fumes and the after effect of their climax making them sleepy, she playfully scolded him for instigating breaking their rule…_

_He reminded her that she didn't exactly protest and that's where she came up with the tweak….. Only the person dating was allowed to instigate breaking the rule….. In the interest of fairness._

_When one particular person came on the scene, Emily was thankful for this new rule ….. She had known deep down he had been seeing someone for a while, but he hadn't told her. She wouldn't ask outright though… They didn't do that…. Both trying to maintain a façade of not being insanely jealous every time the other so much as looked at another person, let alone dated one. But this time was different. He'd been distant. He'd been cagey. He avoided eye contact when they spoke. She suddenly felt that she'd lost him… But the minute he saw the hurt in her eyes when they both knew he lied to her that one day, he had to make it right again. He realised that he needed to. He needed her._

_After a long, exhausting afternoon, she lay curled up against his strong, sweaty body in his huge bed, covered in a single silk sheet up to the waist. They lay in silence for a long time, both trying to find the words, but in the end, she didn't need to ask him, he just told her… He couldn't see her face the moment he told her, he just felt her body tense a little when he explained he'd been seeing Tamara Barnes. Telling her the reasons why was even harder… That he just needed a release from the BAU and he didn't want to share his burdens of being Unit Chief with Emily. He didn't think it was fair and he didn't want her to think he was flawed, not capable or admit his insecurities. He always wanted to be strong, dependable Derek Morgan to her…._

He moved an arm down her back and wrapped it strongly around her waist. Knowing what was coming, she held on tight around his neck and he lifted her with seemingly no effort, laying her down on the sofa. Hovering over her, he placed featherlike kisses from her lips, taking it slow over her creamy white flesh, all the way down to the waist band of her jeans.

"Derek…" She breathed as he undid the buttons and rolled the fabric off her legs.

He looked down at her and then lowered his body over hers, "What do you want me to do Emily?" He growled, leaning in and kissing lightly the fabric of her panties.

She lifted her head and watched him, him meeting her stare with a grin and then he began to remove the lacy lingerie,

"I want….. " She panted between heavy breaths, and opened her mouth to continue, but all she could do was gasp as his tongue lightly brushed where the fabric had just been.

"Yeah…. That's what I want…." She breathlessly chuckled.

_She sat in her hotel room talking to Charlie on the phone after her third day away on a case. They'd dated for just a few weeks and after a few minutes of talking about their day, he told her he missed her and wanted her now. She made the mistake of asking him what he wanted and then sat on the bed squirming at his attempt to talk dirty to her, trying to stop herself from laughing at his feeble attempt, not wanting to crush his feelings. After the call finally finished, she switched off the bedside light and closed her eyes ready to drift off to sleep. It took just a few seconds for the thought of Derek Morgan talking dirty to her to pop into her head. It had only happened a couple of times, but his husky voice telling her what he wanted to do to her, asking her what she wanted him to do to her, resonated in her mind. She tried to think of other things, but her chest rose and fell quicker and deeper as she remembered. She bit her lip and shook her head trying to talk herself out of what she was thinking… But he was just there…. Just the other side of that wall… She sat up and threw the sheet off her, hesitating as she was about to stand…. But their rule she thought… their rule that there were to be no hook ups on a case niggled at her….. She took a deep, disappointed sigh and began to lie back down again, but before her head touched the pillow, she rose and jumped to her feet. The second she knocked on his door a few seconds later she broke yet another rule…. Him ever obliging._

As she rocked her hips back and forth on top of him, his palms resting on her waist, she looked down, realising he had been staring at her the entire time. She smiled sweetly and he reciprocated, taking her hands in his and entwining their fingers, supporting her as she ground her hips deeper and deeper upon him. He squeezed her hands tighter as her silky walls surrounding him moved faster and faster, the friction sending his heart pumping quicker. The intensity was building inside of him and he tugged at her hands gently, pulling her down to his chest. He moved hips in time with hers, and felt her beginning to tense around him. He knew she was close. He always did. He could tell by her rapid, erratic breaths and the way she shut her eyes so tight. He knew, because it was the same every time and that this meant it was time for him to let go too; To lead her in quickening the pace until they both rode out their climax in sync, lips crashing together, swallowing each other's cries…..

Afterward she lay on him, drifting off to sleep to the feel of him stroking her hair.

"Hey, I just thought…" Morgan whispered, breaking her out of her trance, "….I told everyone at work the other day that I had a date tonight. How did you know I'd be free?"

"Derek, I always know when you're lying." She muttered sleepily.

"How?"

She turned her head so her chin was resting on his chest, looking at him with a tired smile, "Your eyes dart from side to side and you tap your middle finger on your left thigh."

"Really? Am I that transparent?"

"Yep…." She giggled, turning her head so her cheek lay upon his chest once again, "…..Let's face it, we've lied to our friends that many times…."

As her sentence trailed off, her smile dimmed feeling somewhat ashamed of her last statement…

_They lied to JJ when she caught Morgan leaving Emily's hotel room on a case in Michigan saying they'd been working on the file when they'd really just been working on each other. They lied when they were both late coming into work, Morgan saying Clooney had been sick, Emily said she got a flat, then the truth was Morgan had dragged Emily back to bed for a second time that morning. They lied when they both turned down the team for a meal because they had made plans at a swanky hotel downtown together. They lied to their family. They lied to their partners. They lied to everyone. They lied all the time…. But the worse lies of all, was the ones they told themselves….._

It was just about the sex… that's what they told themselves. They knew each other. They trusted each other. They were their 'sure thing'. They knew what each other liked. They knew each other inch by inch. They felt safe with each other when letting anyone else in scared them to death. It was an 'arrangement'….. An adult arrangement. That's what they told themselves.

The text message every night from Morgan to wish her sweet dreams was just what friends do. So was the coffee she bought him every morning. The single orchid or a slice of her favourite cake he'd leave in the top drawer of her desk every now and then just because….. The quick call she'd give him on their days off that would turn into an hour long. Sneaking into her apartment with the spare key to run her a bath before she got home when he knew she'd had a bad day….. That's just friends right?

The sinking feeling knowing the other was with someone else didn't mean anything. The pain in the pit of the stomach upon seeing the other merely talking with a potential date meant nothing either. It didn't mean anything that the other was the first person you thought of calling when you had exciting, happy, sad or stressful news….

No. They shouldn't be together…. It wasn't possible. It would never work…... May be it was time to put an end to it….

The following morning, she jumped out of bed and made toward the bathroom where she could hear him in the shower. She slid through the open door into the steam filled room.

"Derek?" She called out.

The shower curtain suddenly whipped open revealing a very wet and very naked Morgan smiling at her,

"Hey, you ok?" He asked, wiping the soapy suds from his cheery face.

She couldn't help her eyes glancing up and down his naked form, glistening from the water droplets, "Yeah I was just coming in to let you know I was going home." She told him, a little sadness in her voice from the thoughts whirling around her mind.

Not noting her sombre mood, he pouted playfully, "You don't have to go yet do you? You coming in?" He winked, holding out a hand to her.

She laughed, realising her incredible weakness when it came to Derek Morgan. She figured she wasn't ready to give him up just yet.

"What you laughing at?" He asked.

"Nothing." She said softly, pulling off his baseball shirt she was wearing, and grasping on to his hand, before wrapping her arms around him, feeing relief at being exactly where she felt she most belonged.

**So I'm not sure if this turned out how I wanted in my head… The point is, they've been pretty much in a relationship the whole six years, but cannot admit it to themselves or anyone else… They are addicted to each other, kind of leading a double life and unfortunately, others are getting dragged into their complicated world because they won't take that final plunge with each other…. I know it's very naughty of them…. All the lies and all the cheating and in essence hurting each other too. However they clearly love and need each other, but don't have the balls to do anything about it. **

**In the summary I said this could be a multi chapter… I thought about doing a number of chapters exploring the complexities of a relationship like this and write about various things that happened during the past six years…. (I know some parts of this chapter may have seemed rushed which why I thought I could go into more detail in further chapters). What do people think? Or are you not to keen on lying and cheating Derek and Emily…. But good people can do bad things**

**(It's all just a bit of fun….)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Firstly, thank you for all the reviews for the first chapter…. And I'm sorry if I didn't reply to you all. Secondly, sorry this took so long…. I really struggled with how to structure this… start at the beginning of their relationship or from the end of the last chapter? Well I decided to start at the end of the last chapter and where I can, do some flashbacks. **

**Because of the nature of this fic, it could get quite angsty in places just to warn you… Hope you enjoy.**

Emily smiled as she walked through the corridor of Quantico upon seeing Garcia tottering towards her in bright pink stilettos, floral knee length dress and the purple ribbon tied in a bow in her hair. She was a sight that never failed to kick start your day.

"Good morning Penelope." The profiler smiled.

"Morning honey pie." Garcia almost sung before cocking her head to the side, pursing her lips and examining her friend.

"What?" Emily asked, a little confused.

"So…. what did you and Anthony get up to on your days off?" She inquired excitedly.

Emily frowned at her friend's to the point questioning, "Nothing. Why do you ask?"

"Sweetie, no one comes to work looking like you do this morning without it being something to do with a man…. Or woman…. Or whosoever you chose to do the horizontal jig with."

"Looking like me?" Emily's tone suddenly a little higher in defence.

"Yes you. Your eyes are bright, your face flushed and you have the biggest grin on your face….. Plus your hair is a mess, if you don't mind me saying. In a rush were you?"

Emily shook her head dismissively and began to walk away cursing herself for not checking herself in the mirror before leaving Derek's place this morning.

She knew she was being followed however, by the tap tap tap of Garcia's heels behind her.

"Er no lady…." The voice rang out behind her, "…. You don't get away that easily. What _did_ Anthony do to you this morning? I need to know gory details." The techie said, leaning into Emily and lowering her voice.

Emily chuckled, "He didn't _do_ anything. Actually, we split up."

Garcia grabbed hold of the brunette's arm, halting her. "Why?" Her tone both concerned and surprised.

Emily shrugged nonchalantly, "It just wasn't going anywhere."

"And you're ok?" Garcia asked, placing a hand on her friend's shoulder.

"Yeah I'm good Garcia. Thank you."

"Ok. So now I am confused though." The techie stated.

"Confused about what?"

"Something made you all glowy this morning. Whatever it is you've had, I want some."

Emily couldn't help but chuckle thinking back to her magic medicine this morning…. One healthy dose of Derek Morgan in the shower.

"What are you laughing at?" Garcia asked, smirking as something had clearly tickled her friend.

"Nothing." Emily lied.

"You're hiding something." Garcia accused.

"No…." Emily began, shaking her head, "… I'm just happy to be free again."

Garcia squinted at her friend with suspicion, "Ok. Fair enough. You can tell me about it later."

"So we got a case?" Emily asked, changing the subject.

"Yes. Everyone's waiting at the roundtable."

"We better get going then." Emily said, holding one hand out in front of her, indicating for her blond friend to go ahead of her and she followed on behind.

"Nice of you to join us." Hotch said dryly, without looking up from his papers, as the ladies entered the room.

"Sorry sir…." Garcia said, shuffling her files on the table, "…. We were just talking about what Emily was up to this morning to make her so bright and breezy."

Everyone's eyes shot to Morgan who began choking, trying desperately not to spit his coffee all over the table.

Hotch's brow furrowed, "Yes, well I'm sure that's very interesting, but we need to get started on this case. You ok Morgan?" The Unit chief asked, as the younger Agent was still trying to clear his throat.

Morgan nodded, with his hand over his mouth and glanced sidewards toward Emily who purposely avoided his glare.

"Ok Garcia, What have we got?" Hotch asked, grabbing the room's attention.

"This is Calvin Harris…." She started pointing to the screen, "….and Trey Forrester, both fifteen, both found dead found dead last night by a dog walker in Rock Creek Park."

"Both from the same school?" Emily asked.

"Yes…" Garcia replied, "…. Cleverly High in Park View District here in Washington."

"Anything from the post mortems yet?" Rossi inquired.

"Both killed by strangulation however they think Calvin Harris was killed approximately two days before Trey Forrester."

Reid frowned, "So were they both reported missing?"

"Yes. Harris a week ago, Forrester four days ago."

"So what makes this a FBI case?" Morgan asked.

"Strictly speaking it's not, however a third boy, Michael Whittaker, was reported missing two days ago. The three boys belonged to a gang from the school and there had been rivalries with another gang at the same school for the past few months that have been escalating. The local cops are asking for help in interviewing some of the gang members. The whole of the school has clammed up. No one will say anything. They thought your expertise may give them a break."

"Ok. Pretty straight forward…." Hotch started, "… We'll split into pairs. JJ and I will start with the teachers. Get as much background on the youths as we can. Prentiss you pair up with Rossi. Reid with Morgan. Take one gang each. Garcia you start getting background on as many as you can…." He began to stand up, "…..Let's get to work."

As they all stood, Morgan looked toward Emily, "Hey Prentiss, can you just come to my office. I need you to sign of some case papers real quick. The deadline was today."

"Sure. No problem." She replied, following him out.

He stood inside the doorway of his office, letting Emily pass him by.

"What are you doing?" She asked, watching him shut the door behind her.

"What did you tell Garcia about this morning?" He almost whispered, ignoring her question, and walking to stand in front of her.

Emily laughed, "Look at you mister paranoid."

"Emily…" He scolded.

"Ok… I didn't tell her anything. She just thought I looked a little…. Flushed and glowy this morning. She wanted to know why." She said with a shrug.

"Flushed and glowy…?" He chuckled, raising his brow. "….That's a good thing right?"

"Well yeah. But she assumed it was something to do with Anthony."

"So what did you tell her?"

"I told her we split up of course."

He stared at her with a growing smirk for a few seconds and then took a step towards her, "Ok… So would you like to feel flushed and glowy a bit more?"

A breathy laugh escaped from the back of her throat and she couldn't stop the grin creeping across her face, "What do you mean?"

"I missed you the past few weeks. How about staying with me for a couple of days? Make up for some lost time" He smiled, taking another step and slipping his hands around her slim waist and under her jacket.

"Derek, we're not supposed to be doing this here…." She feebly objected, making no attempt to free herself from him.

He grinned, ignoring her last words, "Well?"

"We're on a case." She said, her coy smile betraying her protesting words.

He leant in and nuzzled into her neck, "We're not _away_ on a case though. It's different." He mumbled in between soft kisses.

She closed her eyes and took a long breath in, allowing herself to take in the feel of his feasting lips…. But only for a few seconds.

She placed her palms around his strong forearms and gently parted their bodies, "Ok…" She smiled, "….I'll come and stay. But I doubt we'll be getting much home time until we find this kid anyway."

"Let's go find him then." Morgan grinned, breaking away from her entirely, grabbing his bag from his desk and hurriedly leading the way out.

~~CM~~

The team made little progress the first day. They learned plenty about each gang, but were no closer to finding the missing boy. Derek and Emily finally made it past his front door at half past midnight. They were too exhausted to talk and that familiar guilt of allowing themselves to rest knowing the boy was still out there - may be alive, may be dead – preventing them from having any thoughts other than how they were going to solve this case first thing in the morning.

Emily shred all of her clothes and just let them fall on Morgan's bedroom floor before crawling naked under the single sheet. She was pretty much asleep before her head hit the pillow and just a few minutes later, Morgan dropped his towel right by her pile of clothes after showering and slowly crept under the sheet with her. He pressed his naked chest up against her back and wrapped his arms around her like it was the most natural thing in the world. That kind of comfort was all they needed tonight.

The following day was the polar opposite. By mid afternoon, Rossi and Emily had managed to crack one of the younger boys. He told them the leader of the murdered boy's gang had turned on them as they tried to break away, so he had taken matters into his own hands and attempted to set up his rivals.

Michael Whitaker was found alive and well and the captor now was now behind bars. They went home that night a little more full of pep and enjoyed a bottle of wine and take out.

~~CM~~

The next couple of days there were no cases, so they had the evenings to themselves. He took her to her favourite restaurant the first night and afterward they strolled along the moonlit river in the fresh, crisp air, as they had done so many times before. She wasn't sure at which point it happened, but by the time they got back to Morgan's SUV, somehow their little fingers and become intertwined.

The second day after work, she didn't even manage to get her jacket off as they entered his place, before he scooped her up and carried her, caveman style to his bedroom. Something he had been waiting for since the moment he had woken up. They spent the rest of the day and evening as one sweaty mass of flesh, exploring every single inch of one another until exhaustion set in and they fell fast asleep.

In the morning, she was the first to open her eyes to the stream of sunshine breaking through the window. He was lay behind her, his chest against her back and his arms around her….. That's how they always seemed to sleep.

As she lay in his arms, she stared out of the window where she saw the familiar family of blue jays that nested in the trees just outside of his bedroom window.

She was happy. She was content and she smiled, knowing she hadn't felt like this in a long time…. Not with Anthony. Not with Charlie. Not with Gregory. Not with anyone but the dark man lay next to her.

She turned her body so she was facing him, not leaving his embrace and he opened his eyes slowly, a big grin creeping across his face as his eyes focused on her. He sleepily pouted his lips until they met hers, too lazy to move his head towards her. She smiled into their kiss, wrapping her arms around his waist, his skin feeling as if it were on fire.

"We have to get up." She mumbled into his mouth without parting their lips.

A groan escaped from the back of his throat and he rolled onto his back, Emily rolling with him, and snugly fitting into the crook of his arm, her cheek resting on his strong chest.

They both began to doze again, but then it happened…. Just as it happened so many times before; Morgan's cell buzzed. He reached over and picked it up, squinting to look at the screen, but she saw it first. As she read the name 'Katie' she felt her stomach begin to tighten. He quickly replaced the cell on the side and pulled the brunette closer into him, but he felt her go rigid. He knew she had seen.

They wouldn't talk about it though. They never did…...

Instead, they got up in awkward silence, and there was minimal conversation as they got ready.

She was glad when she escaped out of his place and was in the safe confines of her own car on the way to Quantico.

~~CM~~

"So you have plans for this weekend JJ?" Reid asked the blond who was huffing and puffing about the mundane paperwork they had done for two days straight.

"We're taking Henry up to Will's parent's for a couple of days. We haven't been for ages. You?"

Emily buried her head as far as she could into her files, dreading the same question being directed at her soon. The only thing she had planned was a dinner and movie night with Derek and as natural as their lying had become, it still jarred her every time she did it.

But she was grateful when she heard an unfamiliar voice interrupt the conversation.

"Excuse me…"

Emily looked up and the timid voice was coming from someone Emily thought she recognised, but couldn't place.

"Yes?" Emily answered the petite brunette with a smile.

"Errr, do you know where Agent Morgan is?"

"Have you tried his office?" Emily offered.

"Yeah. He's not there."

"Ooh there he is." Reid called out, pointing to the dark profiler who was walking towards them.

It took him a second to notice the young admin clerk stood at the desk talking to his friends, but it was too late to turn and walk in the opposite direction and too late to stop the panicked expression on his face.

He forced a small smile toward the girl who was grinning at him, "Derek." She beamed excitedly, earning a smirk from Reid and a raise of the brow from JJ towards Emily, who attempted to look amused.

"Hey Katie…." He muttered, coming to a standstill a couple of yards from her, shoving his hands in his suit pant pockets. "…What's up?"

Emily felt her breath catch in her throat and her face start to burn up. She just wanted to walk away, but was frozen to the spot.

"Well…" Katie smiled, lowering her voice a little and taking a small step toward him, "…. _You_, promised me a date remember?" She flirted.

Derek quickly glanced around his friends; Reid stood staring at them both with no sense of subtlety. JJ was desperately trying to keep a giggle in and he just caught Emily's eye before she looked downward back toward her paperwork.

"I erm…." Derek started, his palms getting increasingly sweaty.

"You should go to that Mexican place….."

Everyone turned to face Emily who was looking at Katie, desperately avoiding eye contact with Derek, "… that one down town I told you about."

She then couldn't help but look at Derek who was stood with a furrowed brow and a look of disbelief on his face. As his eyes widened towards her, she averted his gaze once again to her desk.

"Well?" Katie asked, turning back to face the profiler who bit his bottom lip and forced another smile.

"Sure, I'll come up and see you to arrange a time. I don't know my schedule right now."

"I do. You're free on Thursday." Reid interrupted with a look of someone pretty pleased with themselves. It soon disappeared however, as Derek turned and scowled at him.

Reid held one finger up, "Or may be I'll just sit down here and leave you to it." He muttered as he sat down slowly and bowed his head into his files.

"I'll come up and see you." Derek said turning to the brunette.

"Ok." She replied cheerily, turning and making her way out of the bullpen.

Derek continued his stare on Emily until he heard JJ's tone, "Well Derek Morgan sure has a little admirer."

He turned to look at the blond who was smirking again.

"C'mon Morgan, it's not like you to be all coy." JJ teased.

"I'm not JJ." He uttered, straining to keep his temper under control.

"She's cute." JJ chuckled.

"Whatever….." He waved away, "… I've got work to do."

He glanced back to Emily as if he were expecting her to say something else, but she just stared at him, her dark eyes wide.

He slightly shook his head and she saw a flash of hurt in his eyes just before he turned away and walked back toward his office slowly.

~~CM~~

For the rest of the working day Morgan locked himself away in his office and didn't come out once until it was time to go home…. Home….. The place he'd spent the last few days so happy and in a split second she had managed to break it all down…..

She cursed herself as she drove back to Morgan's place for leaving her stuff there that morning. What she wanted to do was speed home and forget the day since leaving Morgan's place that morning, with a big glass of red wine. But she knew it wasn't going to be that simple…..

"What the hell was that all about?" Morgan spat out, them reunited in his lounge  
>"What?" She asked, playing dumb.<p>

"Telling me where to take Katie out on a date."

"I wasn't telling you. I was just suggesting."

"Suggesting…" He laughed sarcastically. "…But why?"

"Because I didn't want you to feel that you couldn't say yes to her because I was there."

He didn't respond at first. She could see his jaw was tense. All she just wanted was for him to say he wasn't interested in Katie. That he wouldn't be taking her out. That's all she wanted. But she knew that wouldn't come. They were as stubborn as each other.

"So you're ok with me going out with her?" He asked, his eyes sad and screaming for her to say no.

"It doesn't matter does it?" She whispered, picking at her fingernails.

"What do you mean?" His voice softening.

"I can't tell you who you can and can't go out with. That's always been the deal."

He swallowed, watching her with her head slightly bow, "The deal…..?" He repeated, the words were soft and broken at the end.

"Yeah. You can date who you want and so can I." She stated.

This was her defence mechanism…. Get in there first.

As she pushed him towards this other woman, one conversation with Reid, just a few months after she joined the BAU, resonated in her head telling her this was the right thing to do;

"_Where's Morgan?" Emily asked as Reid climbed into the back seat of the SUV, bandage wrapped around his head._

"_He's still inside." _

"_Well I wish he'd hurry up. I'm starving." She complained._

"_I wouldn't bank on that. He was deep in conversation with one of the nurses. He just ignored me." Reid said a little sorry for himself._

_Emily frowned, ignoring Reid's whining, "Talking to one of the nurses? About what?" she asked._

"_Well, you know I'm no expert on these kind of things, but I think they were, what you people call, flirting." _

_Reid chuckled at his own joke as Emily's stared at the entrance to the hospital, willing Morgan to emerge._

"_Do that a lot does he?" Emily inquired, attempting to appear as if she were just making conversation._

"_Do what?" The young doctor asked._

_Emily rolled her eyes, "Flirt." She spat out, a little more aggressively than she had intended._

_She watched him shrug his shoulders through the rear view mirror, "Don't know really. But you know Morgan, easy come easy go. He's not one for relationships."_

"_So he's never had a proper girlfriend?"_

"_Nope…." Reid started, fiddling with the bandage, "…..Not since I've known him anyway."_

"_Why do you think that is?"_

"_He says he isn't ready for anything serious…." Reid chuckled, "… I don't know if Derek Morgan ever will be."_

_Emily knew she should stop her line of questioning, but right now, she just couldn't help herself. She'd heard snippets of his reputation around Quantico, but had never really seen evidence of it herself…. Of course, apart from what they had been up to over the past few months she had known him._

"_So, has he dated many girls at work?" She couldn't stop._

"_No…." Reid said very sure of himself, "… Morgan said he'd never date a girl that carried a gun."_

"_Oh…." She almost whispered, spotting Morgan walking towards them._

And that's when the battle with herself started. That one small conversation had convinced her all of these years that they could never be more than just friends with benefits.

And Morgan… well Morgan didn't want to push her. He was afraid if he did he'd lose her forever and that, he couldn't bear.

They'd rather have part of each other than nothing at all. So they would keep going round and round in circles, believing they were seeking what they truly wanted with others, but never really giving hose others a true shot…

_To be continued….._

**I feel like this chapter sucks… I just want them to be together, but it's going to be a bumpy road… you think you can handle it? ;) Next we will see how they both deal with the 'Katie' situation…. Any feedback or ideas greatly appreciated**


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